COVID-19 CEO Update

During this uncertain period, Trust Tairāwhiti stands together with our communities and the organisations and people who serve them.

Our top priorities are the health and wellbeing of our team and whānau, the organisations we work with, and the communities Trust Tairāwhiti serve throughout our region.

We know things are changing rapidly for the organisations we support as we continue to understand the impact of this ever-changing situation together. Our Trustees and management held an emergency meeting on Thursday 26th March in light of the increasing strain COVID-19 is putting on our community.

Effectively understanding where Trust support is most needed requires input from the communities we serve. Next week we will roll out two surveys:

• Community Groups – help us understand the impact of COVID-19 in Tairāwhiti
• Businesses – help us understand the impact of COVID-19 in Tairāwhiti

For individuals we will also set up a range of polls with different topics relevant to the situation as it progresses.

The surveys and polls will assist the Trust to better understand the impact to our communities and businesses. This information will serve two important functions;

1. The Trust will use feedback to inform other regional leaders of the current situatios and together, provide regular updates on the situation in Tairāwhiti. This will enable Government to make good, practical decisions on further support packages.  
2. As the government continues to announce additional support packages, the Trust we will use feedback to support our communities where we see a regional need -outside of the government support packages.

The Trust has made the decision to focus our funding over the coming months to help address the emerging needs of families and whānau during the months ahead. For organisations that have recently had an application approved, or have already commenced work on an application, we encourage you to talk to us to consider changes this situation has enforced. We want to consider flexibility which may include:

• Ideas where funds can go to the highest need, rather than necessarily spending it on the activity outlined in the contract;
• Reducing reporting requirements;
• Extending reporting and spending deadlines.

Trust Tairāwhiti consider the following as priority areas for COVID-19 related initiatives in the coming months:

• Community groups or business that support vulnerable members of our region and currently face a lack of resource or foresee a lack of resource.
• Organisations that have the capability to help prevent or mitigate the risks to human wellbeing as a result of the COVID-19.
• Groups solving problems that COVID-19 makes significantly worse.
• Volunteers supporting those in self isolation, with basic needs not being met, as a result of COVID-19.
• New and emerging ideas to support the region, communities or groups in the emerging situation which contribute to improving regional wellbeing.

The Trust Tairāwhiti Takihoko Business team have increased resource available to support local businesses as the impact of COVID-19 is increasingly felt in our region.

If you would like to speak to someone about your business and the challenges of COVID-19, our Business Growth Advisors are happy to make an appointment and discuss your situation.

Trust Tairāwhiti remains open for business. While we won’t be holding any face-to-face meetings, we are still available via email, phone, Zoom etc. A list of staff contact details can be found here.

To keep our communities informed the Trust will regularly update the following channels.

• Website, with a new home page dedicated to the latest COVID-19 information
• Facebook
• Email Updates. If you are not on our mailing list, please register here.

For the latest government updates on the situation please continue to use https://covid19.govt.nz/. Remember Everyone should stay at home. This is the best thing we can all do to stop the spread of COVID-19. This will save lives.

Stay safe out there and be kind to one another.

Tātau Tātau

Gavin Murphy CEO